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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Royal Haeger Mauve Agate

Royal huh what? A royal mouthful, is what that is.

I am so glad for Vintage Thingie Thursday! Not only because I get to see all the fabulous thingies linked at Colorado Lady, but also because when else would I ever clean this stuff? I mean, I'm a good enough housekeeper, but you know sometimes you don't really clean all the gee-gaws on the shelf until you've got people coming over who might actually look at them, right?

Well, maybe that's just me, but regardless, welcome! I've dusted just for you!

You may recall that I have a fondness for mid-century art pottery, especially Royal Haeger. I've talked about it in more detail here, and specifically about the stylized work of designer Royal Hickman in the late '30s and '40s.

Today I pulled all the Royal Haeger pieces I have in the mauve agate glaze. It's kind of a pinky-blue-green mottled glaze, which colors might take you back to the 1980s, but the mauve agate glaze actually dates back some 40 years before that.

Here's a closeup of a three-tier block candle holder, which dates to around 1950. While I don't intend to decorate my house in these colors anytime soon (been there, done that), I do think they're beautiful here.

I found these two three-tier candle holders at a thrift store a few months ago, and I marched them immediately to the cash register before anyone could change the $1.99 price tag. They're worth about $20 to $40 apiece in a good market. The market is not so good at the moment, but if you're looking to start collecting this kind of stuff, now might be the time to start.

This monstrosity, otherwise known as "Sphere with Three Feather Plumes," or mold number R-281, is a planter. Sometimes I call it "the brain." It's about the size of your head, and the thing looks like it should have a pulse.

I found it listed as far back as the 1942 Haeger catalog. This was an eBay purchase, as were the rest of these. About 10 years ago, its value was in the $125 to $175 range. No, I did not pay that!

This is called a "Ruching Bowl," R-309, and is from the mid- to late '40s, as are the two tulip bud vases, R-496. The vases don't belong inside the bowl, of course, because that's where you would normally have your delicious ruchings (just kidding).

And I'm sure no one reading today cares about the mold numbers, but the Haeger aficionados who will Google this in the months to come might. And then again, they might not either, but I like to have my bases covered.

Unlike this woman, who apparently likes her bases uncovered.

This is one of the more interesting pieces in my collection, "Woman Riding Fish Flower Block," also known as "Nude on Fish Flower Frog," R-363. This piece is very characteristic of Royal Hickman's design style. I found this one, again, as far back as the 1942 catalog.

I'm no prude, but can you see yourself buying this in 1942? I can't, but maybe it was a popular gift item among husbands. "Honey, you mentioned you needed something for your flower arrangements. What do you think of this little number?"

Hey, who knows, that was before cable TV. I'm sure it was a conversation piece, anyhow.

If you'd like to see more information (and gorgeous photography) on Haeger pottery, these books are both wonderful references.

Wow those are so cool! I will definitely keep my eye peeled in the future - looks like the kind of thing that might turn up at my local Goodwill store! What does the maker mark look like on the bottom - does it say Haeger or is it a symbol?

I think Haeger was one of the first companies to supply vases and containers to the florist industry. I am a florist and collect the all white matte finish vases. You have a beautiful collection. Thanks for sharing.

I remember my grandmothers brother having some of these pieces, well..actually, they may have belonged to his wife, but I always was interested in them, they were always in the living room... I really like the colors of your pieces. Have a great VTT!

P.S. sometimes, the only time I dust certain things is for their photo shoot!!!

That last one is, um, certainly . . . intersting. You can't help but look at that semi-pornographic {for 1942} piece and think, what is that . . . nude on the . . . fish doing? And what is with the base? Is it a flower? Is it a frog?. Perhaps that's how it came by it's name? In any case, those are all very pretty pieces. Thanks for sharing!

BTW, I love the quilt they're sitting on. Have you posted that somewhere else? I'd love a closer look?

Enjoyed your blog love your sense of humor. I'm also a big Haeger collector check out my pics at yahoo's Flickr sire search Royal Haeger and find pics bt haegernerd click on one and that should lead you to my photostream at that site.

And I was completely familiar with Haeger...hence the reason I googled and dropped in here. Just got myself the Sphere with Three Plumes. and have most of the other peices except the nude and candlesticks. Nice collection. Hat's off to a fellow Haeger collector!Terri in WI